The Castle Film Analysis

The Castle (1997), directed by Rob Sitch and Strictly Ballroom (1992), directed by Baz Luhrman both succeed in displaying the idea of Australian dreamers. They both to show that Australia is a land where working hard can make dreams come true. Scott, from Strictly Ballroom, dreams to win the Pan Pacific’s, and more importantly, to dance his own steps. Darryl, The Castle, just wants to keep living his simple life in his house with his family. While both ideals and characters vastly contrast, they are both dreamers.
The two films have differing plots. Strictly Ballroom is about a young man wanting to dance his own steps. Scott dreams of a life where he does not have to follow the strict rules set by the Dance Federation. After finally dancing …show more content…
This represents the Australian ideal, or dream, that it is a welcoming country, ready to accept everybody. This may not always be the case in some circumstances, but it is a difficult line to draw. Strictly Ballroom is set mostly within the ballroom dancing community of Australia. It is artificial and competitive. Exposure to this his entire life has corrupted Scott. Not until he meets Fran and practices with her does he realise that life does not have to be so aggressive all the time. He then meets her Spanish family. A few things are noticeably different between the two’s lives. Fran’s family is large and loud, and clearly not everyone is directly blood related. They live next to a railroad in a very small house, but they are all happy. They are clearly more enthusiastic about life than the ballroom community. They teach Scott to be less structured, focussing less on the music, feeling ‘the rhythm in his heart’. This links to his life, he needs to let go of being competitive and be free to dance his own steps. In The Castle, one of Darryl’s neighbours and friends is Farouk. He is an Italian immigrant, and part of the group fighting to stay together in that local